Judicial Law Clerks
Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.
Also called: Appellate Law Clerk · Career Judicial Law Clerk · Career Law Clerk · Judicial Assistant · Judicial Clerk · Judicial Law Clerk
Median pay (national)
$60,400
$42,000–$113,150 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
13,220
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+2.5%
~1,000 openings/yr
Typical entry
Doctoral or professional degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for judicial law clerks shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $113,150 versus $42,000 at the bottom 10% — 2.7x. The median of $60,400 leaves roughly 87% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +2.5% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 1,000 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 36 states with released data, New York pays the most for this role (median $127,780, +112% vs the national median), while Kentucky sits lowest at $37,680 — a 239% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Thomson Reuters Westlaw as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Monitoring
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
- Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
- Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
- Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
- Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
- Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
- Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.
- Respond to questions from judicial officers or court staff on general legal issues.
- Communicate with counsel regarding case management or procedural requirements.
- Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
Tools & technology
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Thomson Reuters Westlaw
- Microsoft Windows
- Aderant CompuLaw
- Advanced Technologies Class Act
- American Legalnet eDockets
- American Legalnet Smart Dockets
- Canyon Solutions Jcats
- Compugov DocketView
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Infocom JACS
- Justice Systems FullCourt Enterprise
- Legal Files software
- Levare Center Court
Knowledge areas
- Law and Government
- English Language
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Communications and Media
- Customer and Personal Service